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Sunday, June 25, 2017

HSIEN YANG FLEES SINGAPORE? IN NEW TWIST TO FAMILY-FEUD DRAMA, ESTRANGED BROTHER OF PM HSIEN LOONG SEEN IN HK

Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged brother of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, flew to Hong Kong over the weekend as a highly publicised family feud between the siblings continues to unfold in the city state.

The purpose of their visit is unknown, but when approached by reporters, Lee, a former chief of the nation’s telecommunications giant Singtel, only said that he was “visiting friends”, according to online media outlet HK01.

His wife, Lim, is a top corporate lawyer and a partner at international law firm Morgan Lewis Stamford, which has offices in Hong Kong.

According to a source, the couple will be in the city for “a few days” for private matters, but there was no indication that they planned to move here, and Lim visited Hong Kong regularly.

The trip was made amid the drama over a row between the three children of Singapore’s revered patriarch Lee Kuan Yew, with Lee Hsien Yang indicating he might go into self-exile.

Earlier this month, Lee Hsien Yang and sister Lee Wei Ling took to Facebook and shocked the country with accusations against their eldest brother Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister.

The two younger siblings said their brother had abused executive powers to block the demolition of a family home against the wishes of their late father.

In a joint statement issued in mid-June, the younger siblings said they felt “threatened by Hsien Loong’s misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda”.

They also said that they feared for their safety because they felt their elder brother was using state organs to harass them.

Lee Hsien Yang later stated that “it is with a very heavy heart that I will leave Singapore for the foreseeable future”, blaming a loss of trust and confidence in his brother, and expressing concern over Singapore’s future.

The feud between the siblings played out over weeks on social media and in public statements.

Lee Hsien Yang’s most recent Facebook post slammed his elder brother for “getting his ministers to repeat his insinuations that Lee Kuan Yew did not understand his own will”. “This is an insult to a great man,” he wrote.

Last week, Lee Hsien Loong apologised to citizens for how the fallout had “affected Singapore’s reputation” and vowed to refute allegations that he abused his power.